The vulnerabilities in the wholesale funding and in particular short-term (overnight) repurchase agreement (repo) markets were significant sources of systemic risk in the Global Financial Crisis. Numerous studies have investigated the role of repos in the crisis, but only a few scholars have explored why the European repo markets have weathered the crisis better than their US counterparts. With a focus on the underlying legal and structural features of repo markets across the Atlantic, our paper sets out to explain such a different outcome. In doing so, it sketches the key differences in the EU and the US repos by focusing on three main aspects of repo markets that are pivotal to highlighting potential vulnerabilities. First, it highlights the differences in the legal framework governing repos, such as legal construction of repo contracts, special bankruptcy treatment—the reform of which has been a key controversial issue across the Atlantic—and legal treatment of the reuse of collateral. Second, it discusses the composition, structure, and organization of the repo markets, such as differences in the composition of repo participants, maturity of repos, and the composition of the underlying collateral in repo contracts. Finally, it investigates the differences in the issues related to the market infrastructure of repo markets such as differences in the clearing and collateral management stages. The findings of our paper suggest that multiple legal and regulatory divergences, which could still pose challenges to the short-term funding markets, exist in repo markets across the Atlantic.

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The Harvard Law School Bankruptcy Roundtable promotes dissemination of academic and practitioner views of current bankruptcy issues, via weekly posts targeting issues of interest, typically linking to a more extended analysis elsewhere. For inquiries and comments, please contact us at bankruptcyproject@law.harvard.edu.